1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electric connector including a connector terminal having a pair of spring terminals between which a male connector terminal of a male electric connector is sandwiched, and further to a housing of a female electric connector to be used in the above-mentioned electric connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
A connector terminal into which a male connector terminal of a male electric connector is inserted is used for electrically connecting printed circuit boards to each other or connecting a cable to a printed circuit board.
An example of such a connector terminal is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model No. 2595483, for instance.
FIG. 20 is a front view of the electric connector disclosed in the above-identified Japanese Utility Model.
The electric connector illustrated in FIG. 20 includes a female contact 2 and a male contact 3. The female contact 2 includes a contact 2A into which the male contact 3 is fit, a base 2B fixed on a body 1, and a leg 4 extending upwardly from the body 1 and connecting the body 1 to an upper end of the contact 2A. The leg 4 is composed of an electrically conductive material, and acts as a spring. The base 2B is formed at a surface thereof with a projection 5 to prevent the contact 2A from being excessively compressed downwardly.
Since the electric connector is designed to include the projection 5 formed at a surface of the base 2B, the projection 5 supports the contact 2A through a bottom of the contact 2A when the male contact 3 is deflected to thereby cause the contact 2A to be expanded, and prevents the contact 2A from excessively lowering. Thus, the electric connector can be designed to have a small height with the contact 2A being in a floating condition.
However, the conventional electric connector illustrated in FIG. 20 is accompanied with a problem that after the contact 2A is lowered to make abutment at a bottom thereof with the base 2B, a portion of the contact 2A located at the opposite side of the leg 4 is outwardly inclined, resulting in that a contact pressure between the contact 2A and the male contact 3 is avoidably reduced, and hence, contact reliability between the contact 2A and the male contact 3 is deteriorated. In particular, if the male contact 3 were fit into the contact 2A in a deflected condition, a contact pressure to the male contact 3 is reduced, and further, the male contact 3 and/or the contact 2A may be buckled.
A positional relation between the male contact 3 and the contact 2A may be deflected even after the male contact 3 is fit into the contact 2A. In particular, in an electric connector equipped in an automobile, a positional relation between a printed circuit board on which a female electric connector is mounted and a printed circuit board on which a male electric connector is mounted is prone to be deflected due to vibration generated while an automobile is running and/or a difference between the printed circuit boards in thermal expansion caused by temperature fluctuation around the printed circuit boards. Though the deflection in the positional relation can be cancelled when one of housings is fit into the other, there is generated deflection in clearances of the housings. Thus, since each time a male contact moves when an automobile vibrates, it is important for a female contact to provide contact reliability in electrical connection with the male contact.